Art History

Our majors and minors experience the intimacy of a small community while benefitting from the broad range of liberal arts courses that Fairfield University provides all undergraduate students.

We live in a visual world and the field of art history is an essential tool for experiencing humanity's visible achievements. The Art History Program of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts offers a complete academic curriculum covering all the major achievements and periods of Western Civilization, as well as courses on the arts of Asia, the Americas, and Africa.

With a strong emphasis on the relationship between historical research, written analysis, and observational interpretation, students of art history come to possess a powerful visual vocabulary. Coursework often includes visits to galleries and museums in New York City.

Many art history majors choose to enrich their experience further by spending a semester or year abroad in Florence, Italy. Ultimately, the art history curriculum leads to a capstone experience, with credit earned in advanced seminars and independent study, or through an internship. Students use the skills they nurture in art history as preparation for professions such as teaching, museum and gallery curating, marketing and media careers, as well as nearly any job requiring visual analysis.

Equally important, a strong liberal arts education based in art history gives students the tools to pursue careers as diverse as medicine, law, management, and international relations.